Feb. 12 (Bloomberg) -- Obamacare health plans enrolled 3.3million people through January, with young adult participantsincreasing 65 percent from a month earlier, the U.S. governmentsaid.

Private health plans under the Patient Protection and AffordableCare Act enrolled 807,515 people ages 18 to 34 as of Jan. 31, anincrease of 318,055 since December, the U.S. Department of Healthand Human Services said today in a report. The age group made upabout 25 percent of those who had signed up for health coveragethrough January, the report showed.

The Obama administration has focused its outreach on youngAmericans, hoping to reduce the proportion of sick people enrolledin health exchange plans. Television ads featuring formerbasketball star Magic Johnson are airing during National BasketballAssociation games, and celebrities including Maroon 5 singer AdamLevine have been recruited to promote the law.

“These encouraging trends show that more Americans are enrollingevery day, and finding quality, affordable coverage in themarketplace,” Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebeliussaid in a statement.

The Congressional Budget Office lowered its projection forenrollment by 1 million people this month, following the troubledintroduction in October of healthcare.gov, the federal government’sinsurance website. The budget agency now expects 6 million peopleto sign up by March 31 when the 2014 enrollment period closes.

January slowdown

Fewer people signed up for private plans in January than inDecember, HHS data show. About 1.8 million people selected plans inDecember, before coverage took effect Jan. 1. About 1.1 millionpeople signed up in January, the government said.

California continues to lead the nation in enrollment, with728,086 people selecting a plan by the end of January. The reportdidn’t include information on how many people have paid their firstmonth’s premium, the final step required to completeenrollment.

The demographic mix of enrollees is important for insurers whomust cover everyone regardless of their age or whether they have apre-existing health issue. The more younger and healthierenrollees, the easier it is for insurers to cover the cost of thosewho are older and sicker.

WellPoint Inc. Chief Executive Officer Joseph Swedish said Jan.29 that the customers enrolling in the company’s exchange planswere “consistent with our expectations. We do feel good about whatwe’ve seen thus far in the exchanges.” Indianapolis- basedWellPoint in the second-biggest U.S. health insurer.

Wellpoint said that 500,000 exchange customers had selected itsplans, the most that any publicly traded company has reported.

Total Enrollment

Sebelius said today that about 9.6 million Americans now havecoverage under the health law, including new purchasers of privateplans and people who enrolled in government health programs.Medicaid, the state-run program for low-income people, has beenexpanded in 25 states under the law to cover adults earningnear-poverty wages.

About 48 million Americans were uninsured in 2012, according tothe U.S. Census Bureau. Gallup Inc. reported today that about 16percent of Americans older than age 18 were uninsured in January,the lowest proportion the firm has measured in five years.

“The uninsured rate appears to be on track to drop to the lowestquarterly level measured since 2008,” the polling company said in astatement. The survey “may suggest that the Affordable Care Act’srequirement for most Americans to have health insurance, which tookeffect on Jan. 1, is responsible for the decline,” Gallup said.

Individual Mandate

The Affordable Care Act marks the biggest expansion of healthcare in the U.S. since Medicare, the medical plan for the elderly,and Medicaid were adopted in 1965. The law created government-runinsurance exchanges where Americans can buy health plans withgovernment tax credits to reduce monthly premiums. Individuals mustbe covered by March 31 or face penalties.

The administration earlier this week delayed until 2016 arequirement that employers with 50 to 99 workers provide healthinsurance. Larger companies with 100 or more employees will have tocover 70 percent of their workforce, rather than 95 percent,starting in 2015.

Copyright 2018 Bloomberg. All rightsreserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten,or redistributed.